Magnetic Abrasive Machining of Difficult-to-Cut Materials for Ultra-High-Speed Machining of AISI 304 Bars

This research proposes an optimized magnetic abrasive machining process that uses an ultra-high-speed system to perform precision machining on a workpiece. The system can process several microns of material, either for machining surface roughness or for machining a workpiece for a precise micro-diameter. The stainless steel workpieces have been machined using an ultra-high-speed magnetic abrasive machining (UHSMAM) process. The experiments were performed analyzing the accuracy of the machined workpiece diameter, using response surface methodology. The results obtained after machining have been analyzed to determine the effect of different process parameters such as machining speed, machining time, machining frequencies, inert gas in/out, magnetic pole types, and magnetic abrasive mesh size for the individual workpiece, as well as to study various interaction effects that may significantly affect the machining performance of the process. The obtained outcomes of the analysis for different workpieces have been critically compared to understand the effect of the considered process parameters based on the resulting mechanical properties. Regression analysis was used to confirm the stability of the micro-diameter and the processing efficiency. Atomic force microscope (AFM) micrographs were also obtained to study the surface morphology of the precision-machined workpiece.